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THE TOP

Happy Monday morning. There are 15 days until Election Day.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is in Zagreb, Croatia, this week. She’ll hold a news conference this morning in Zagreb, where she’s attending the First Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimea Platform.
Pelosi was grilled Sunday by Margaret Brennan on CBS’ “Face The Nation” over her future if Democrats lose the House. Pelosi, as usual, deflected the question.
“I’m not talking about that. I’m here to talk about how we win the election,” Pelosi told Brennan when asked whether she planned to remain in the Democratic leadership during the next Congress.
“I’m not here to talk about me. I’m here to talk about the future. America’s working families. For the children. It’s always about the children. And the point is this … these issues, if you’re a senior, you have a lot at risk.”
Pelosi’s answer, of course, isn’t surprising. This is what she’s been saying for a while. Most of this cycle, in fact. Yet as Election Day nears, there is growing speculation about what happens to the 82-year-old Pelosi if Democrats lose their majority, which seems increasingly likely. The same goes for her fellow octogenarians atop the Democratic Caucus, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn.
Some Democrats are calling for a “new generation” of leadership, including Reps. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), and that’s getting a lot of press coverage. We’ll note that neither voted for Pelosi as speaker in 2019 or 2021, so this isn’t exactly a new position.
What’s Pelosi’s reaction to this kind of criticism from Democrats? Here’s Pelosi to MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell last week: “I say, just win, baby. Just win. If that’s what you have to say to win, fine.”
All of this sounded so familiar to us. We looked back to fall of 2010, when House Democrats were on the verge of a historic wipeout at the hands of the Tea Party movement, to see what Pelosi and her Democratic colleagues were saying then.
Republicans and GOP-aligned outside groups had spent tens of millions of dollars demonizing Pelosi as the symbol of everything wrong with Washington. It helped drive her approval ratings to new lows.
Pelosi, though, continued to insist Democrats would hold the House, even when it was clear a GOP wave was coming.
“I feel that we will be in the majority and that I will be speaker of the House,” Pelosi said during an Oct. 6, 2010 press conference. “But it’s not about me, it’s about the middle class.”
What about all the GOP attacks against her? “I view that as a highest compliment, that they want to take us down,” Pelosi said during an event billed as the “Most Powerful Women Summit.”
More Pelosi: “It isn’t about me. And if they want to make it about me, then they have to have something else to offer.”
That year, even House Democrats were slamming Pelosi, especially those from the South and Midwest. Then Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) was running TV ads bashing “Pelosi’s energy tax on Hoosier families” while Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Texas) – who Pelosi had pushed for VP in 2008 – wouldn’t commit to voting for her as speaker again. Rep. Jason Altimire (D-Pa.) ran an ad with constituents saying “I like that Jason Altmire is not afraid to stand up to the president and Nancy Pelosi.” Georgia Democratic Rep. Jim Marshall’s campaign went up with an ad saying, “Georgia is a long way from San Francisco. And Jim Marshall is a long way from Nancy Pelosi.” Only Donnelly and Altmire won that November.
The worst of the bunch was former Rep. Bobby Bright (D-Ala.). Bright, a one-termer who would lose his reelection, told an Alabama audience that Pelosi “might even get sick and die.” The remark apparently drew laughter from the crowd but it also spurred a backlash nationally against Bright.
And what was Pelosi’s reaction to these attacks from fellow Democrats? Here’s what she told some columnists:
”I say go for it,” Ms. Pelosi said. She would counsel those vulnerable Democrats, ”Just win your election.”
Time is a flat circle. Especially in politics.
– John Bresnahan
New event: Join us on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 9 a.m. ET at Hawk ‘N’ Dove for our conversation with Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) about the impact of 5G on energy. The event is the third in a three-part series presented by CTIA. Don’t miss it – RSVP here!
PRESENTED BY META
Future surgeons will get hands-on practice in the metaverse.
Surgeons will engage in countless hours of additional low-risk practice in the metaverse.
The impact: patients undergoing complex care will know their doctors are as prepared as possible.
The metaverse may be virtual, but the impact will be real.
👀
Who we’re watching

→ | John Fetterman and Mehmet Oz: The Pennsylvania Senate candidates will finally debate Tuesday in Harrisburg, Pa. It’s the first and only faceoff between the two men ahead of Election Day. The stakes here are obvious. This is one of the most competitive Senate races in the country and represents a rare pickup opportunity for Democrats. |
Fetterman is recovering from a stroke, which makes this debate even more important. There are lingering questions about his health and ability to handle the job. This will be a big test for the lieutenant governor.
→ | President Joe Biden: We’ll get another big economic datapoint this week when the third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) estimate is released Thursday. Remember – a recession is technically defined as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP, which we’ve already had. Analysts estimate the U.S. economy grew at nearly 3% from July to September, but we’ll also note the downturn earlier this year caught everyone by surprise. |
→ | Rishi Sunak: The former chancellor of the Exchequer is expected to become the next British prime minister. Sunak, though, may find out the journey is better than the destination. Inflation is soaring, and interest rates will have to rise too, further threatening the British economy. Energy costs are an enormous challenge for average Britons. Union leaders are ready to fight any calls for big spending cuts. |
– Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan
DUES DRAMA
Connolly makes DCCC dues push
Rep. Gerry Connolly (Va.), who’s running to be the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, is urging his colleagues to pay their dues to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Connolly wrote in a letter to House Democrats on Friday that he’d paid another $100,000 in dues to the DCCC, raising his total contributions to $275,000 this cycle. This is $100,000 over the amount Connolly is supposed to pay. Here’s more from Connolly’s dues appeal:
This Congress has made historic progress that we can be proud of and campaign on – our vulnerable colleagues just need the financial resources to get over the finish line.
To do just that, our dues contributions help fund critical investments across the battlefield and are the single best way we can help hold our Majority. It gives the DCCC the most discretion to fund investments where it’s needed the most.
I encourage you to step up and take the Speaker up on her generous offer to match dues until Tuesday, October 25th.
We’ve reported extensively on how scores of House Democrats haven’t paid a single cent in dues to the DCCC this cycle, or less than the assessed amount. As of early October, roughly a quarter of the Democratic Caucus had paid zero in dues.
The situation has frustrated top House Democrats, leading Speaker Nancy Pelosi to announce last week that she’d match lawmakers’ dues through Oct. 25. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer cut a $100,000 check to the DCCC last week while urging Democrats to chip in more.
We also broke the news last week that Frontliners are so fed up with the dues situation that there’s serious talk of not supporting Democrats in leadership or committee races who haven’t contributed to the DCCC. Connolly, of course, is seeking the top spot on Oversight and is running against Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.).
— Max Cohen
THE CAMPAIGN
→ | Marist has a new poll in Ohio that shows Republican J.D. Vance up 46-45% over Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) in the contest for the Senate. 8% are undecided in the race, including 16% of independents. Republicans feel that Vance is actually ahead by five points. |
→ | Defending Main Street Super PAC got $350,000 from the Congressional Leadership Fund Oct. 12. |
→ | Republicans feel very confident they are going to beat Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas). Another piece of evidence? CLF is up with news ads in his district. |
– Jake Sherman
MOMENTS
12:45 p.m.: President Joe Biden will leave the White House for the DNC, where he will speak.
2:15 p.m.: The Bidens will plant a tree at the White House.
3 p.m.: Karine Jean-Pierre will brief.
5 p.m.: The Bidens will host a Diwali reception. Vice President Kamala Harris will attend.
Biden’s week: Tuesday: Biden will get his Covid-19 shot and speak about the virus.
Wednesday: Biden will host Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the White House. He will also meet with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other military leaders. Biden will participate in virtual fundraising events for members of the Nevada congressional delegation, Reps. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa) and Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.).
Thursday: Biden will fly to Syracuse for an event at a new Micron facility. He’ll then go to Wilmington.
Friday: Biden and Harris will be in Philadelphia for a reception for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.
CLIP FILE
NYT
→ | “In Tim Ryan’s Ohio Senate Race, the D Is Often Silent,” by Matt Flegenheimer in Columbus, Ohio |
→ | “U.S. Executives Are Flocking to Saudi Davos in the Desert,” by Kate Kelly in London |
→ | “As Israel Votes, Again, Netanyahu Pins Hopes on the Far Right,” by Patrick Kingsley in Tel Aviv |
WaPo
→ | “Rishi Sunak on course to become U.K. prime minister,” by William Booth, Karla Adam, Jennifer Hassan and Leo Sands in London |
WSJ
→ | “IRS Leader’s Looming Exit Leaves Hole at Tax Agency as Expansion Begins,” by Rich Rubin |
→ | “Early Earnings Reports Worry Investors Already Battered by Stock Selloff,” by Hannah Miao |
Axios
→ | “Tucker Carlson lashes out at GOP campaign chief in irate private call,” by Jonathan Swan |
Bloomberg
→ | “Ukraine Latest: US, UK and France Warn Russia Not to Escalate,” by Bloomberg News |
→ | “UK Bonds Surge as Investors Pin Hopes on Sunak, Fiscal Caution,” by Alice Gledhill |
AP
→ | “A swing state no more? GOP confidence grows in Florida,” by Steve Peoples in The Villages, Adriana Gomez Licon in Miami and Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee |
→ | “US Border Patrol sending migrants to offices with no notice,” by Claudia Torrens and Vanessa A. Alvarez |
LA Times
→ | “Racist audio leak could push L.A. City Hall further left in Nov. 8 election,” by Julia Wick and David Zahniser |
Miami Herald
→ | “He’s 9 months old and a U.S. citizen. Why does Florida DCF want to send him to Haiti?,” by Jacqueline Charles and Jay Weaver |
PRESENTED BY META
Students will be able to explore outer space in the metaverse.
With the metaverse, students in a classroom will be able to travel to the depths of our galaxy, helping them get up close to the planets and gain a deeper understanding of how our solar system works.
The metaverse may be virtual, but the impact will be real.
Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. Political ads courtesy of AdImpact.

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Presented by Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance
Americans know who to blame for rising drug prices: Big Pharma. A majority of Republicans, Democrats, & Independents all believe Big Pharma’s focus on profits keeps drug prices high. Let’s hold Big Pharma accountable – it’s an issue we’re united on.